﻿20pc kids living with high pressure in Pakistan, experts

KARACHI: Renowned Cardiovascular Diseases experts on Thursday said stress and overweight cases have been rising among children in the society, increasing the risk of developing heart diseases in children in future.

They shared these views while addressing the three-day 23rd Annual Conference of Pakistan Cardiac Society CardioCon 2014 on theme: “Creating Heart Healthy Environment” as organized by Department of Cardiology Department, Civil Hospital Karachi, in collaboration with Dow University of Heath Sciences, Pakistan Cardiac Society and American College of Cardiology in local hotel.

Dr Benish of Dow University of Health Science said balanced diet in childhood is necessary for a healthy heart and also prevent children from childhood obesity. She said 21 to 24 percent children are overweight in developed countries like America, while 16 to 18 percent children living with obesity.

She said junk food, sedentary lifestyle and indoor games are leading causes behind the rising cases of obesity and overweight children. She said proper diet plan, daily exercises, healthy environment and balanced diet will help to avoid obesity and overweighting among children.

Senior Cardiologist Dr Kashif Sheikh said one third population of world uses tobacco products. He said over 15 percent population of Pakistan use tobacco and feared that number of heart cases would sharply increase in coming 20 years.

He said consumption of one cigarette can reduce 11 minutes of a person’s life. He said peer influence, stress, idealism and adventurism are major factor behind rising trend of smoking among young generation. He said smoking increases the risk of heart attack by about 20 to 30 percent as compared to non-smokers.

Dr Syeda Saria Bokhari of Aga Khan University Hospital said 20 percent children are living with high-blood pressure in our country, while 18 to 24 percent are overweight. She said similarly 33 percent adult population of the country is overweight.

Dr Abdul Wahab said high pressure leads people towards stress which is one of major factors behind occurrence of heart problems. He said stress can affect people of every age group. He said noisy atmosphere, traffic jams, trend of frequent breaking news on media and excessive use of social media can lead people toward stress.